The President's Daughter

Ashley watched the two men approach her and realized that the man with Ron Stevenson must be Colin’s replacement. She’d heard about Colin’s accident first thing that morning. She’d liked Colin, and been sorry to hear about his accident.

Now she studied his replacement and was startled to see he was intent on an inspection of his own. His attitude annoyed her. She knew what he saw and knew he wouldn’t be impressed with her slight build and her lack of obvious assets. Not that she cared what he thought about her. What difference did it make to her? She was glad she wasn’t the type of woman to attract a man like the one coming toward her. She would bet he had no trouble gaining all kinds of attention from most women.

But not her.

Although he wore the dark suit and tie that was the uniform of the men in the protective service, she did not consider him average. Exactly what it was that disturbed her about him still eluded her. His eyes seemed to probe for secrets she might wish to keep. She shivered, made uneasy by the predatory way he moved.

“Ashley, I’d like you to meet Nicholas Logan,” Ron said once they reached her side.

Ashley dropped the towel on the bench beside her and held out her hand.

“How do you do?”

Her instincts were telling her that she wanted to leave a safe distance between herself and this man. Those instincts were right on target, she discovered when he took her hand and shook it.

Ashley felt a strong current of electricity shoot through her that made her want to leap away from him. Instead, she nodded, then casually released his hand, taking care not to rub her palm against her leg to ease the tingling she felt.

Ron cleared his throat before speaking. “I understand you have plans for the evening.”

“Yes. Todd and I have tickets for The Nut cracker Suite.”

Neither man changed expression, which was a dead giveaway to Ashley, who had been around similar men for most of her life.

“Have either of you seen it?”

When Ron said nothing, Logan cleared his throat. “No, ma’am. I haven’t.”

“Have you ever been to the ballet?”

Both men shook their heads slowly, their expressions carefully blank.

Briskly she turned away, saying over her shoulder, “Well, you’re in for a treat. We’ll be leaving at seven.”

By the time she finished her workout, Ashley decided she had over reacted to the new agent. She was being silly. He was no different from the other special agents—there to do his job.

As soon as she left the gym, the men followed her at a discreet distance back to the living quarters of the presidential family.

Both her brothers enjoyed having the agents at their beck and call, and spent hours talking sports with them. Jamie, at fourteen, and Matt, at eleven, were still young enough to enjoy the attention, especially since their dad had such a busy schedule.

It was like having male nannies whose attention was always focused on them. All of which was fine and dandy. For now. Just wait until Jamie started to date. She had a hunch he wasn’t going to appreciate the security measures quite so much then.

She was thankful that Todd was comfortable escorting her to various functions. They had been friends for years. Todd’s family had moved to Washington when her father was first elected to the presidency because Todd’s father was a member of the Cabinet.

Their non-romantic friendship was very important to her. Todd’s even disposition helped her keep her sanity. He had suggested they go to The Nut cracker because he knew how stifled she was feeling.

She needed to get out for a few hours. She’d been home from school for two days and already missed her life there.

If her dad approved of her plans for a winter vacation she’d be gone in a few days. This year she wanted to have the holiday vacation all her friends took for granted—one away from supervision by older adults.

Somehow she had to convince her father that she could travel without a gaggle of Secret-Service men proclaiming to the world who she was. Just once she wanted to be treated like a normal college student, without a care in the world.

Nick and Ron took their supper break early. Nick waited until they finished before saying, “Not very friendly, is she?”

Ron didn’t need to ask for clarification of the “she” in question. “Actually she surprised me this afternoon. Usually she’s more talkative. She may be upset about Colin. The accident was a shock to everyone.”

“I’m surprised there was no mention of Colin’s death during the meeting.”

“Chambers spoke to us individually before you got there. We’re all having to deal with it.”

“How long were you partners?”

“Two years.”

Nick noticed that Ron wasn’t comfortable with his questions, so he changed the subject.

“Are you looking forward to the evening’s entertainment?” Nick asked.

“Are you kidding? The last thing I consider entertainment is watching a bunch of people running around on their tiptoes.”

Nick laughed. “I’m with you there.” He looked at his watch and pushed his chair back. “Guess it’s time to get back to work. I can see this detail is going to be a barrel of laughs.”

Chapter 2

Washington, D.C.

Monday night, December 21

Nick sat directly behind Ashley Sullivan at the theater. Her date for the evening was Todd Jessup, son of William J. Jessup, the Secretary of Labor. The two of them seemed en grossed in all the activity taking place on stage. Nick made no effort to watch the stage. He wasn’t there to be entertained. Ron sat in the row in front of Ashley, while two men were in the lobby and two more in a car outside, all connected by radio.

Out of habit Nick continued to scan the area, watching the audience and their reaction to the onstage festivities. He wasn’t the only one less than enamored by the whole thing. He noticed several bored expressions, and one man nearby had dropped off to sleep.

Intermission finally came. Ron and Nick made certain that one of them was in front of Ashley and Todd, while the other one followed directly behind. Once they reached the lobby Todd turned to Ashley and offered to get her something to drink.

She glanced around the crowded area and smiled. “That sounds great. While you’re waiting in line, I’ll go to the ladies’ room. I’ll meet you back here.”

She ignored Nick and Ron, as though they weren’t there. Heck, maybe they were invisible, Nick decided. That would certainly make their job a good deal easier.

He quietly followed her through the mass of milling people, keeping a general eye out for anything that might be deemed unusual. Ashley stopped a couple of times and spoke briefly to acquaintances. She had just disappeared around the corner of the hallway leading to the ladies’ room when Nick saw a flurry of movement out of the corner of his eye.

A woman was making a beeline for the same area, her expression intent, her attitude bordering on rudeness in her rush to follow Ashley through the hallway leading to the ladies’ lounge. Nick waited near the entrance to the lounge, keeping an eye on the middle-aged woman. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions. There was no reason to think that Ashley might be in danger. However, he didn’t intend to take any chances.

As soon as the door opened into the lounge, the woman reached inside her handbag. Nick was right behind her, reaching for the weapon in his shoulder holster.

By the time he realized the woman was pulling out a package of cigarettes and eagerly lighting one, Nick found himself inside the ladies’ room, creating a stir among the occupants. Hoping to be as inconspicuous as possible, he backed out the doorway, but not before Ashley spotted him in the mirror, where she had paused to freshen her lipstick.

She spun around and glared at him. Grabbing her purse, she marched after him, following him into the hallway.

“My God, can’t I even go to the restroom without being followed?”